Interesting and educational film about how wildcatters decided where to drill for oil, and then getting funding, and finally the drilling itself. The narrator talks about how it was getting more difficult to find oil and it wasn't lasting long. Funny that 63 years ago they were worried about oil running out, yet here we are still finding oil and using vast amounts more than back then.

Well, perhaps for just personal kicks, I found this film to be Very Good when it comes to explaining the way the Oil Field worked in the Old days (1959), the year I was born. Sure, it's one of those Schmaltzy Educational films of the Type people from my Generation used to watch in Grade School (first time I ever held a Girl's hand was during one of these films in the 4th grade-- but I digress). The Film follows a couple of brothers in the Wildcat Business (the old term for exploring for Oil in new and untested regions) and is a True Representation of the way things worked back in 1959. All of the people in this film were real people, went by their real names, The Drilling Company and the Rig, Big Chief Drilling Company, really existed, I know, I worked on that particular Rig back in the 1970's in Central Oklahoma. The Tool Pusher I worked for on Rig 23, Frank Fillman, is in this film back when he was just a Derick Hand. Sure, the Dollar amounts spent back then seem miniscule now, and the Technology seems Ancient, but they Still Punch Holes in the Dirt the Same Basic Way as they did back then (watch "Black Gold" on TruTV to see the difference between 1959 and now). Overall, it is a Very Good Film for the Historical Perspective it provides on the Oil Industry. Please note that even back then they were talking about the Dwindling Oil Supply, and back then they were talking about World Oil Consumption in terms of Millions of Barrels a Day, not Billions. Oh, one more interesting thing about this film-- the location where they filmed the drilling of this "Dry Hole" was near Enid, Oklahoma. In the film they drilled to a TD (Total Depth) of 6500 feet, hoping to strike the pay zone known as "The Cherokee Sand." Now, if they had drilled another 5000 to 6000 feet down, they would have hit "The Big Lime," a limestone formation that is the biggest producer of Natural Gas in the Region, or at least it was back when I was a Roughneck on Rig 23. All in All, I gotta give this little film a Big Thumbs Up for the Historical Perspective that it provides, and I also have to give a Big Tip of The Hat to the Cameraman that had the Guts to Ride the Elevators of the Rig from the Stabbing Board to the Rig Floor to Give a Great View of The Whole Operation. I've Ridden those Elevators Many times with my Hands Free to hold on to the Bales, I can't imagine the Guts it took to Ride the Elevators from where my old boss was to the floor holding on to a film camera--Great Stuff for an Old Roughneck to watch!